Universal Audio recently released a saturation and coloration UAD Native plug-in namedVerve Analog Machines.Verveis a bit of a departure and something new for UA, as none of these machines are modeled after any specific piece of hardware, old or new, and they all feature minimal controls.Verve Analog Machineoffers ten different nuanced flavors of tone bending and coloration for your tracks. When I think of the word "verve," it leads my mind straight to some amazing records in my LP collection by artists like Charlie Parker and Stan Getz. Frank Zappa and the Velvet Underground were even on the classic Verve label. UA'sVervecollection channels some of that '60s analog nostalgia through a GUI with a funDwell Magazinegraphic vibe that makes these plug-ins exciting and easy to use. Rather than blabbing on about my opinions on each of this plug-in's "machines," I thought it would be interesting to get some real-world usage notes from some ofTape Op'scontributors, starting with our own Scott McChane.-JB

"What jumped out to me immediately wasVerve'ssimple look and basic control set – just choose your machine and adjust its two effects parameters (such as Drive, Tone, and Warble). You also get a handy output level control, which you'll need when you start abusing a Drive setting. One of my favorite machines wasWarmon female vocals, which gave just the right amount of poppy crush to a soft verse performance. Grab the 'Vocal Butter' preset in the upper lefthand dropdown, and it'll take less than a minute to tweak. The Warble control is not timed (which can be a good thing), and I found that though this machine worked well as an insert in my DAW, I liked it best as an effect send so that I could really push the Drive control then control the effect's blend on an aux return. All the 'Drum Bus presets are rad. I was working with a slow (and too clean) Phil Spector-style early '60s beat, so I initially tried 'Drum Bus 60s Bounced,' which gave me a good starting point. I ended up using theThickenmachine with the Drive pushed and the Warble tucked. This move worked perfectly and was a more controlled substitute for the too familiar now '1176 all buttons in on drum room mics' trick. I can't wait to try this plug-in on picked electric bass and punk rock vocals. Overall, I foundVerve Analog Machinesmore subtle, usable, and realistic thananyof my other 40 or so harmonic-based plug-ins – 10 out of 10 for me!"-SM

Next up we got some comments from mixing ninja Adam Kagan: “I've been playing withAnalog Machinesmostly during mixing. I get so many mixes where the session I receive is 90% there, and it just needs some polish, and a bit more attention to the sounds. I found that withAnalog MachinesI could add a little something extra that makes a track feel more finished, without losing the vibe of the intended sound. It works especially well for kicks, snares, toms, and drum subgroups. TheGlowmachine helped kick drum tracks in an indie rock record sit in just the right place. For electric bass, scrolling through the different machines is like having ten unique re-amp options that all sound excellent in their own way. On bass tracks, the plug-in gave just the right amount of push that felt like adding the weight of an amp versus a DI. I mostly usedVervefor enhancing sounds while mixing, but if used during production it would definitely open up a lot of cool tonal possibilities.” -AK

I found similar uses forVervein some tracks I was mixing for the Bay Area band Bad Tiger. On one song in particular I wanted a rhythm acoustic guitar as the primary guitar track to sound a bit oversized and hold its own next to a loud, full drum track. I started off with the “Acoustic Sizzle” preset on theEdgemachine but ended up moving over to theGlowmachine and tweaking that. The acoustic track maintained its own space in the mix against the loud drums but was not any louder than the original signal. Like Scott, I felt I had more control when I putVerveon a return and could blend it in with the original signal.-JB

Resident synth/pedal expert and all-around audio wizard Dana Gumbiner had this to say about the plug-in: “TheVerve Analog Machinesplug-in, in particular the more subtleSweetenandEdgemodels, found a home at the front of more than a few mix bus chains as it added a nice bit of coloration and tape compression sound without eating up a ton of CPU or cognitive real estate. Perhaps belying its sweet and simple design, it has a shocking amount of tonal variety. Example: I used theOverdriveandFiremodels in series (with two instances ofVerve)to obliterate a clean DI electric bass sound, much to my great delight. ManyVervesounds made me think of it as a two-knob hybrid mashup of UA's Thermionic Culture Vulture and Studer A800 [Tape Op#85] UAD plug-ins, with a little extra compression character. The warble effect is charming, but I sometimes get a bit anxious that the lo-fi effect is often overcooked these days. Anyway, that was fun!”-DG

Daniel Ryan Morse mostly works out of his home studio in Reno, Nevada, and this is what he had to say aboutVerve: “Until I subscribed to UAD Spark, I thought engineers who mixed entirely in the box were either liars or lunatics. But when I had the chance to try UAD plug-ins on a mix (and compare them with matching hardware), I was sold. Some might complain that there aren't enough knobs to tweak onVerve Analog Machines, but for meVerveis an excellent bonus to the already stellar line-up of plug-ins included in the UAD Spark subscription. I typically apply them late in a mix once everything is roughly in place and I'm trying to improve my initial mix. When I'm listening back and feel that one or two elements need a little something extra, I'll openVerveand audition a few options. I've found thatVintagizeis fun on snare for a good 'splat' sound, but it's not subtle! It will kill the clarity of the high frequencies, but in some cases this is to be desired. It helped me get closer to a '70s Royal Studios [Tape Op#120] sound, but it doesn't beat an old ribbon mic next to an old snare in a dry room! As a compromise, I duplicated my snare track and blended in someVintagizedsnare to round things out without losing the crisp high frequencies.Thickenis good on a dry snare, too, eliminating some of the honki-ness while rolling off some highs.Edgeis great for warming up a DI Bass (drive at 33% and tone at 50%), and I also found it useful on vocals if you want a little bit of breakup without going too wild. For bass amp mics (especially if they're not cutting through a mix),Glowadds some helpful grit (drive at 66% and tone at 33%). I've grown to love the color spectrum in the GUI, from colder (blue) to so warm that it's obliterated (bright red), as it allows me to select the spiciness I think will work while also allowing me to quickly experiment with neighboring colors to determine better what a track really needs. The best analogy I can think of is from cooking: Sometimes, you need more salt (savoriness), lemon (brightness), or chili spice (heat) to finish a dish.Verve Analog Machineshelps me balance a mix that's almost there but needs a little more harmonic excitement.”-DRM

Tape Op'seditor, Larry Crane, also tookVervefor a spin and has some closing comments: "A lot of the songs I get sent to mix are using more and more virtual instruments, directly recorded instruments, sampled drum kits, and such that mostly feel bit lifeless or too pristine compared to mic'ing up real instruments and amps. For a recent mix with layers of DI'd synth and guitars, I would drop theVerve Analog Machineson a track, click through the ten machines, and then usually dial back the Drive a bit from the default preset. The tones of instruments will shift quite a bit, and in this case it was for the better. In the past I've spent a fair amount of time auditioning various harmonic plug-ins for this kind of processing, and they were almost always too harsh or too subtle for my taste.Vervegot the job done faster and more musically, and that seems to be the whole point of this plug-in. My only note is that from everyone's review you can tell that a blend knob would be highly desired. But hell, if it speeds up my workflow these days, I am a fan."

-LC ($199;uaudio.com) -JB, with SM, LC, Adam Kaganmixer.ninja, Dana Gumbinerdanagumbiner.com, Daniel Ryan Morsedanielryanmorse.com Buy From Sweetwater!